This rather jolly looking little egg represents the cheaper end of Hotel Chocolat’s Easter Collection for 2013, being priced at a mere £8.00. The 100g egg is described as “Melted slabs of salted caramel and 50% milk chocolate studded with salted caramel pieces and chocolate chips sandwiched between caramel chocolate shells” which is as good a description as any to begin with.

This is one of Hotel Chocolat’s slightly more tongue-in-cheek efforts, with its brightly coloured box and lighthearted presentation. The two halves are made up of a thick piece of mixed chocolate (which puts me in mind of their range of slabs in the way it’s been mixed) and one half of a hollow egg decorated with a couple of zigzags of white and dark chocolate. The eggs are made by hand, hence the price.

The size and presentation of this egg might have you thinking it’s aimed at younger chocolate lovers, but the 50% cacao milk chocolate and salted caramel chocolate combination may prove to be a little rich for younger people. My teenage daughter ended up refusing any more of the salted caramel part because it was ‘just too rich’, so be warned!

In terms of quality I don’t think you can get much better than a 50% cacao milk chocolate, and Hotel Chocolat do a very fine version. The salted caramel chocolate is rich and gooey in the mouth with deep, lingering flavour. Eat all of this in one go and you’re quite likely to end up feeling a little the worse for wear!

The lack of anything inside or around the egg might disappoint, or even put off potential buyers, but for overall quality of ingredients this is definitely one of the better offerings out there and infinitely preferable to about 90% of the generic chocolate eggs that have been sat on supermarket shelves for the past two months. Hotel Chocolat are now a British cacao producer as well as a chocolate maker – another good reason to get behind the company and show your support by buying something from them this Easter.

Comments On This Post

Nothing wrong with a richer chocolate – just makes it last longer! I can wolf down a load of milk chocolate (and its accompanying calories) in no time, and that just makes it less satisfying than richer chocolate – full of taste – that actually lasts me longer.